Bathtub stool with safety hand rail



Jan. 21, 1969 J. A. BAN OCZI BATHTUB STOOL WITH SAFETY HAND RAIL Filed Jan. 9, 1967 Sheet of 2 Jan. 21, 1969 J. A. BANOCZI 7 3,422,466

BATHTUB STOOL WITH SAFETY HAND RAIL Filed Jan. 9, 1967 7 Sheet 2 of 2 United States Patent 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bathroom stool having clamping legs that are securable over the upper edges of a bathtub, the stool having a seat that is pivotable into the bathtub when not in use, and the seat also being rotatable, so to permit an older or otherwise handicapped person to easily enter or leave the bathtub.

This invention relates generally to bathroom stools. More particularly it relates to seats or stools securable to a bathtub.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a bathtub stool upon which a person may sit when getting in and out of a tub, and wherein the stool has a rotatable seat so that a person may rotate himself during this movement and face in the direction of departure from the seat. This would be particularly beneficial to older persons or those who are handicapped or otherwise unable to easily perform muscular movements such as getting into and out of a bathtub.

Another object is to provide a bathtub stool having self contained means to clamp on the bathtub and wherein the weight of a person sitting upon the stool increases the clamping force to provide additional safety or securement.

Yet another object is to provide a bathtub stool wherein the seat is normally locked from rotation so to prevent accidental turning thereof should a person lean there against for support.

Yet another object is to provide a bathtub stool which does not require any alterations made to a tub for securement thereto, and which can be readily removed therefrom and leave no marring marks upon the tub.

Yet another object is to provide a bathtub stool which may be readily collapsed out of the way when not in use by folding into the tub.

Yet another object is to provide a bathtub stool having a safety hand rail to permit convenient grasp thereof to support a person when getting in and out of a tub.

Other objects are to provide a bathtub stool with safety hand rail which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention shown in operative position,

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the seat in upwardly pivoted position to illustrate the construction therebelow,

FIGURE 5 is a bottom perspective view of a cushion associated with the seat illustrated in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the cushion secured to the seat,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective exploded view showing a modified securement means for the cushion to the seat,

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIGURE 7,

"ice

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a modified spring for clamping the stool to a bathtub, and

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of yet another modified spring.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral represents a bathtub stool with safety hand rail according to the present invention wherein there is a clamping frame 21 securable to a bathtub and which supports a rotatable seat 22 having a safety hand rail 23.

The frame 21 is comprised of a pair of legs 24 and 25, the latter of which carries a platform 26 pivotably secured thereto, the platform supporting the seat 22 which is rotatable relative to the platform. Each leg is made of tubular steel that may be either chrome plated or of stainless steel material so as to resist rust corrosion in the presence of water. Each leg comprises a generally rectangular frame element having a vertical lower portion 27 that bears flat against the side of a bathtub and a horizontal upper portion 28 that bears against the underside of the horizontal platform 26. Between these portions the two legs are pivotally secured together by rivets 29. A rubber pad 30 at the lower end of each leg serves to prevent marring of the tub side wall clamped therebetween. A leaf spring 31 secured to the upper portion of one of the legs bears against the upper portion of the other leg to provide the clamping force against the tub, as shown in FIGURE 4. Rubber sleeves (not shown) could be fitted, as an optional feature, on the legs 24 and 25 at the places where they abut with the upper edges of the bathtub to prevent marring the same.

A bracket 32 is secured to the horizontal portion 28 of the leg 25, the bracket carrying a thrust bearing 33 upon which the platform 26 is rotatable.

A latch 34 is secured to the underside of the platform 26 for the purpose of locking the platform to the leg 24 to prevent the seat from being pivoted upwardly. The latch comprises a slidable bar 35 having a slot 36 slidable on rivets 37 fixed to the platform. A tension spring 38 normally urges the bar into a locked position, as shown in FIGURE 4, wherein the bar extends below horizontal portion 28. A handle or pad 39 on the bar 35 is provided for conveniently pushing the bar rearward with the fingers to unlock the latch.

The seat 22 includes a semi-circular plate 40 of stainless steel or the like secured to a second thrust bearing 41 between the seat and platform to allow rotation of the seat thereupon. The hand rail 23 made of stainless steel or chrome plated tubing is secured at its ends to the underside of the plate 40. A cushion 42 made preferably of foam rubber and covered with a sheet of waterproof rubber may be loosely placed on the plate or made to be removably secured thereto. The plate may include slots 43 and the cushion may have loops 44 on its underside for purpose of lacing ribbons 45 therethrough which are then tied into bows as shown in FIGURE 6, thus securing the cushion to the seat even when the same is tilted into a stored position in the tub. If preferred, snap fastener elements 46 may be secured to straps 47 on the underside of the cushion, and corresponding snap fastener elements 48 secured to the plate for removably holding the cushion to the plate as shown in FIGURE 7.

A locking mechanism 50 is provided to prevent rotation of the plate 40 relative to the platform, except when so desired. This comprises a ring 51 secured to the underside of the plate, the ring having openings 52 which are selectively engageable with a slidable bolt 53 carried on the platform. The bolt is supported in a bracket 54 secured to the platform. A lever 55 pivoted to the bracket is provided with a finger pad 56 for manually moving the bolt against a compression spring 57 for disengaging the bolt with the ring and thus allowing the seat to rotate.

As shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, the spring 31 illustrated in FIGURE 4, may be substituted by a leaf spring 58 between the legs or a coil spring 59 around the rivets 29.

In operative use a persons weight will increase the clamping force of the device to the tub. To rotate the seat, so that a person may enter or leave the tub, he need only to depress the pad 56 to unlock 53 from the ring 51. Upon release of the pad, the bolt will readily lock itself in the ring again. To store the seat in the tub, as shown by the dotted lines in FIGURE 2, the seat is rotated on hearing 41 by means of depressing pad 56 until the hand rail is on the rear side, the pad 39 is then depressed to allow the seat to pivot about horizontal portion 28 of leg 25 until it rests on the inside of the tub.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it is understood that such changes will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as is defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

1. In a bathtub stool with a safety hand rail, the combination of a clamping frame, a rotatable seat supported on said frame and a hand rail secured to said seat, and said frame comprising at least one pair of legs pivotally attached to one another at substantially their middle portions about a generally horizontal axis such that the weight of a person sitting upon the stool increases the clamping force by which the seat is secured to the bathtub and having substantially vertical lower portions for securement against the inside and outside faces of a sidewall of said bathtub and a generally horizontal upper portion for supporting said seat, spring loaded pivot means between said portions for clamping said lower portions against said bathtub sides, and said lower portions having pad means to bear against said bathtub side wall faces, said horizontal portion of one said leg carrying pivotably a bracket having a thrust bearing, said thrust bearing being secured to the underside of an upwardly pivotable platform having a second thrust bearing thereupon and secured to the underside of said seat, and locking means for selectively preventing rotation of said seat relative to said platform, said locking means comprising a ring secured to the underside of said seat, openings in said ring selectively engageable with a bolt slidably held in a bracket secured on said platform, and a spring loaded lever for manually sliding said bolt into said openings, means being provided to selectively prevent pivotal upward movement of said platform relative to said frame, said means comprising a spring-loaded slidable bar supported by said platform, said bar being slidable horizontally under a portion of said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 761,355 5/1904 Bucknam 292173 767,370 8/1904 Lowery 292-173 1,171,775 2/1916 Downing 292-173 1,187,756 6/1916 McQuillen 292173 1,516,995 11/1924 Triguerio 292175 1,794,643 3/1931 Raw 292-175 2,131,214 9/1938 Bentz 4-185 2,142,263 1/1939 Bentz 4185 2,142,434 1/1939 Bentz 4185 3,022,518 2/1962 Hayden 4185 3,196,465 7/1965 Montgomery 4--185 FOREIGN PATENTS 637,973 5/ 1950 Great Britain.

SAMUEL ROTHBERG, Primary Examiner.

D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner. 

